Category: School News

No school today due to Veteran’s Day.

No school today.

This week in school at home we will be continuing in several of our books, that we started last week, memorizing Psalm 12:15, praying for the Delaware Native American Tribe and learning about reptiles! It’s going to be a busy week with piano on Tuesday and home school science class on Thursday afternoon.

Today in class we talked about Moses and his dedication to the freeing his people the Israelites from Pharaoh in Exodus 5:22-6:12. In our reading of Luke we hear more parables told by Jesus.

Today we finished our history/geography lessons on the Incan (actually called Tawantinsuyu), Aztecs and Mayans. We had a lengthy discussion afterward about each of the societies what was good and what was bad. We also discussed how we as a society today are similar to each of these peoples.

In the back of the book is a list of further reading material, Isabel seemed very interested in learning more about them and the Spanish conquistadors that eventually took over their lands. One of the book caught my eye that gives a perspective from the Spaniards view of the native peoples in Central and South America. Might have to look into it at the library.

Reptiles include: snakes, alligators, crocodiles, tortoise, turtles and lizards.

“Catching lunch” was the topic for today’s science lesson on reptiles. Isabel learned how a snapping turtle, an eyelash viper, chameleon and a Nile crocodile lure and eat their prey.

Our readers this week:

We started this book last week and are going to finish it up on Friday.

This book we started last week as well and so far we are both enjoying it.

We have been studying amphibians in class this week and I have been able to found several cool school at home websites and have gotten several tools to further Isabel’s learning in areas that we cover. So awesome!

Working on cursive writing.
She does it beautifully if she takes her time.

We have finished our study on the Aztec’s from Mexico and are now reading through about the Mayan people.

We will probably finish this book early next week.
It’s been a very eye opening and informative study.

For science, I’ve been trying to add some art type projects. This week since we are talking about amphibians, I found some great things about frogs.

Project 1: Life Cycle of Frog wheel.

Cutting out pieces to make her frog wheel.

She cut and glued but didn’t want to color anything.
I left that up to her.

Project 2: Tadpole or Frog? book.

Pieces for her book.

Assembly of her book on to construction paper.

All finished.
Again, didn’t want to color anything.

She had to match up each fact whether it was tadpole or frog.

Tuesday’s in class are usually pretty crazy days and they begin with piano lessons at Mrs. G’s house. We were almost late this morning but made it just in time with 2 minutes to spare!

Afterward we stopped by the store to do some much needed grocery shopping and then picked up some lunch before heading home.

We didn’t start class until 1:30 p.m. and Isabel worked so hard she got all her work done and we were able to enjoy a brisk walk around the neighborhood before dinner. It was a great day!

In Language Arts we have been working on building a good story.
Today Isabel did a reverse outline on the story of Noah.

Working in one of her math books and doing patterns.

Working on coloring shapes.
This was a BIG page with lots of coloring; she finished it and it looks beautiful!

Tuesdays are piano with Ms. G.

Isabel is finishing up learning “Beauty and the Beast”. She will be going over the remaining lines of music this week and next week she will be adding the dynamics to finish the song. I spoke with Ms. G after class and she assures me that Isabel is doing a great job learning all her songs. This week we need to work on slowing down during practice times and counting a-loud (early metronome practice) during songs.

Our class time was delayed due to piano but Isabel got all her work completed except for one assignment (which we will finish tomorrow).

Today, since we got most of our reading done yesterday, we spent the early afternoon working on writing assignments. We did spelling, language arts, English (helping verbs: has, have, had, do, does and did), vocabulary development, science, math, Bible and poetry. We also continued reading about the Aztecs from Mexico.

We worked again with limerick’s.

• a limerick is: a humorous verse where lines 1 and 2 rhyme, lines 3 and 4 rhyme and the final verse rhymes with lines 1 and 2.

Isabel’s assignment was to write 2 limerick’s and they had to start with “There was”.

We finished with school work and had time to continue, free-reading “The Swiss Family Robinson“. I have never read it before (or seen the movie) and I’m enjoying it as much as Isabel!

Today is a big week for Isabel. The 6 weeks of memorization for Psalm 8 that she’s been working on needs to presented.

“O Lord, our Lord how majestic is Your name in all the earth.
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
From the mouth of infants and nursing babes.
You have established strength. Because of Your adversaries,
to make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which You have ordained.
What is man that You take thought of him and the son of man that You care for him?
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and you crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet.
All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field.
The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea.
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas,
O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth!

Today she presented it to Grandma and Grandpa and hopefully she’ll get to present it to her piano teacher and Nana and Pompo tomorrow.

This week in Bible we are learning about “redemption” in the story of Joseph. Also, we learn that more of Jesus’ followers are ready to be a part of His ministry but religious leaders don’t like what He is doing.

This week we are praying for the Seminole Native American people.

In History and Geography, we are continuing our lesson on the Aztecs from Mexico.
(We finished the Inca’s (actually called Tawantinsuyu) last week.)

Today we learned about the Aztec beliefs/superstitions, practices/sacrifices and history. It was a hard lesson to cover and yet it was awesome to discuss the topics that we covered. I hope that she continues to ask questions and that I am able to answer her questions with scripture like today.
It was such a great morning!

This week we will be finishing, T.S.o.t.B. by E.G. Speare.

Both of us have really enjoyed this book and are sad to have to finish it.

We will also be finishing, P.a.t.S. by C. R. Bulla

Isabel has really enjoyed this book too.

In science, we are still studying birds. Today we talked about “showing off“and what birds do in order to attract a mate.

• We learned about bowerbirds and how they use every day objects to impress females. The male bowerbird builds a bower or den and then decorate it with flowers, leaves and other birds feathers. They will use bottle caps, plastic forks and other discarded items to decorate with.
• Aracari birds use bright feather’s to impress females. Yellow, red, brown and black contain pigmets from certain fruits or seeds the males eat. Green and blue feathers reflect light and is called iridescence.
• Birds of paradise have vivid feathers, loud calls and perform flamboyant dances.

We also talked about how we as humans “show off” to other humans. Isabel came up with clothes, earrings, jewelry, tattoos and crazy hairstyles (facial or otherwise).

Today is piano class and National Dessert day. Isabel was excited for both!

Isabel is doing great in piano. She is learning several new Christmas songs.

This week has been all about poetry again, today we went over limericks and quatrain poems.

• a limerick is: a humorous verse where lines 1 and 2 rhyme, lines 3 and 4 rhyme and the final verse rhymes with lines 1 and 2.
• a quatrain is: a complete poem consisting of 4 lines.

Isabel did an awesome job writing her own (see below).

Limerick with drawn pictures!

Quatrain

We also did a whole lesson on birds and how they get the food they eat. We went over pelicans, kingfishers, green heron and with our main focus was owls.

Isabel learned how owl pellets are formed, what they are, where they come from and what’s inside them. She took an virtual owl pellet dissection study and became a…

Bird Barfolotist! Isabel loved this!